Angelah Nothando Mlotshwa
Environmental and Health Reporter
Last week Bulawayo City Council launched the Asitshoveni, a smart mobility Initiative.
The guest of honour was Hon. Judith Ncube, Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Bulawayo.
It was whilst she was reading that the Honourable Minister Judith Ncube deviated from her speech and exclaimed how Victoria Falls City had dislodged Bulawayo as the cleanest City in the country.
She said,
“Last week I was in Victoria Falls, where we went with Deputy Mayor and acting Town Clerk. We had visitors (from South Africa), the acting Primier of Limpopo and his delegations. We joined Victoria Falls people for a clean up of the town. We went around in a bid to find dirt, we could not find even a single paper to pick. We were impressed with how clean the place was.”
“Even the Premier from Limpopo was amazed as there was no dirt to clean.”
She went on to say that on being asked how they managed to keep Victoria Falls clean, the authorities explained that each road, each street was adopted by schools and business entities.
The residents thus have been taking care of the streets they have adopted. If a particular street or road becomes dirt, the responsible school or business is called to take care of their adopted road or street.
“Okuhle kuyalungiselwa, you don’t copy something that is good, but you emulate.” Said the Minister.
As such Bulawayo City Council (BCC) should adopt the idea so as to keep the city clean.
Seemingly the clean up campaign that was conducted on 10 October towards the “Sanganai / Hlanganani Expo which ended 15 October” failed dismally.
Bulawayo wore the crown of being the cleanest City in the country has lost this accolade as illegal dumpsites within the CBD have mushroomed and City authorities struggles to remove this refuse.
Along 6th avenue extension (Luveve Road), by the Renkin, before betting house a putrid odour of rotting garbage has engulfed the area. Residents from across the road, Makokoba, have created an illegal dumpsite supplying it with garbage of which the Council is failing to eradicate.
The situation is worse on service lanes and roads in the surrounding areas of 5th Avenue between Robert Mugabe Way and Jason Mayo Street. The overpowering odour of rotting vegetables, urine, waterlogged potholes causes one to near vomit as the surrounding air is polluted.
The Royal City, ever being Zimbabwe’s cleanliness city with international recognition, has lost this lustre as the City Fathers fold their hands in failure.
In the recent years, the city has failed to maintain its good reputation with uncontrollable littering becoming a pandemic.
Under section 83 of the Environmental Management Act, illegal dumping of garbage on undesignated areas is a chargeable crime and the relevant authorities are failing to impose this law or any other by-law at their disposal.
The absurdity of garbage witnessed during the early hours of the morning in the CBD especially in sanitary lanes is a serious cause for concern, this poses health hazards to the general citizenry.
It is therefore amazing that when the idea of cleaning up the city is being fostered, the very same vendors who contribute immensely in the state of uncleanliness of the City, do not partake.
Hon. Minister Judith Ncube therefore urged the business community, schools, churches to adopt what Victoria Falls had done to keep their City clean.
“I also thought as Bulawayo, copy that approach”, said Minister Ncube
Minster of Primary and Secondary education Hon Dr E Ndlovu reiterated the stance suggested by her counterpart in cabinet saying,
“I’m calling upon all schools and headmaster to make sure that our children contribute to the cleanliness of the country, to make sure that Bulawayo goes back to cleanliness that we had at independence”.
When children are groomed at a tender age, they grow up well therefore they should be taught on how to live within a scintillate environment